1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storage containers, and in particular, relates to storage bins for articles such as citrus fruit and the like which require the gradual feeding of the articles into the storage bin to avoid damage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the citrus industry, there is a requirement that large amounts of citrus fruit be stored for a relatively long period of time between harvesting and the use of the fruit in the juice concentrating process. Conditionally, the citrus industry has used large, open storage bins formed of an enclosure created by a wire mesh between corner posts, and with plural baffles extending from opposing sides of the bin to break the fall of the fruit as it is gravity fed into the bin. Typically, a large number of these storage bins will be used at a single use processing facility.
One of the difficulties associated with storage bins of the type described above is that the baffles, which are required to avoid damage to the fruit, create voids which substantially reduce the amount of storage volume available inside the storage container. When a large number of bins are employed, the loss in storage volume is significant.